Skip to main content

Off we go

We booked the same ferry as two years ago, the thirty hour Portsmouth to Bilbao. It is very convenient as it leaves at 22:30 on Sunday and arrives at 07:45 on Tuesday. So half of the voyage is spent asleep, with one full day to watch the crossing of the Bay of Biscay.

We were all packed by Saturday evening and so left home on Sunday morning and stopped at Stanford-in-the-Vale for the afternoon to see our very good friends and neighbours, Brenda and Paul. It was a typical summer's day in south Oxfordshire with sunshine and a temperature in the mid twenties. So we did what we always to do there and had a bbq and a massive catch-up with news of families and friends. What a great start to the holiday.

Overnight the ferry sails to Roscoff, docking for ninety minutes. After a flat calm crossing and a solid night's sleep we were there. It was cool and damp.



The cabin is compact and bijou and we are now using the time to plan our route in Spain. As the nice weather has been stolen by Oxfordshire and we think that northern Spain is experiencing decidedly cool and damp conditions too, we are probably going to make a dash for the south, specifically Granada and the Alpujarras in the Sierra Nevada.



Labels:

Comments

Nick G4FAL said…
It has appeared
3 June 2018 at 08:42
Jo said…
Good start. Hope you can escape the rain
4 June 2018 at 19:32
Rachel said…
Glad you had a smooth Biscay!
5 June 2018 at 18:01
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Potes and environs

Potes is a bustling town that’s clearly ‘in the mountains’ but isn’t quite a mountain town. Well that was what we thought until we went for a walk. More on that later. First we got to know the site ( Camping La Viorna ) and the neighbours. After the squeeze of the first night near the pool, we were upgraded to a pitch at the end of the lowest terrace which had a superb view of the eastern massive of the Picos. So although this was still a squeeze pitch, somehow we felt good about it. The ‘squeeze’ happened later in the day. ☺️ Happily our immediate neighbours were quiet Dutchland people who like to eat their tea early and retire in good time. They always enjoy taking to us Brits, rather than those Germans and soon I was engaged because I was asked a question. “Why do you have a UK flag on your number plate, rather than a Welsh Scottish or English flag?”. Tricky! I explained that England isn’t a country like Wales or Scotland. They have their own  parliaments and make rules for them...
5 comments
Read more

First views of the Picos

 Santillana del Mar comes as a surprise to those of us that haven’t done the prep and read about this place. Fancy having planning controls going back to the 16C. when you have such amazing stone buildings. This town is a tourist town certainly but it’s thoroughly deserved. Beautiful sturdy Cotswold stone coloured buildings are everywhere. The stone quoins, lintols and supports are impressive but there’s plenty of substantial hefty cross sections of wood too. We wander the streets, looking at the wares aimed at us tourists but encounter cascades of water from the roof tiles. It’s raining and there are no gutters! The bar is welcoming and we cleverly order dos cañas de cerveza  having learnt this glass size from a bartender in Tenerife. We are rewarded with a plate of crisps too and settle on the bar stools, wondering whether to eat here. Unfortunately we discuss this for too long and the tables fill and we are left on the bar stools until we decide to wander again. Inside...
6 comments
Read more

Lago del Valle

Continuing the walking theme, the next day we drove up another of the five valleys that connect with Pola de Somiedo, to get to a suitable start point. This was just below the last hamlet, Outeiro which is at the end of the tarmac. The intention was to walk from there, up to the corrie / cwm of Lago del Valle. The snag of the day was that as we set off to drive the narrow steep road up the gorge from the campsite, we immediately caught up with a full size concrete lorry, This was making its way to that last village and el driver was  not in a mood to pull over. So we had time to look at the gorge-that-becomes-a-high-valley. It’s hard to describe these landscapes. They are severe, incredibly scenic, remote and completely unspoilt. They are also so near the ferry ports of the coast that only £800 separates them from more campervan travellers from Great Britain (& Northern Island). We started the walk and soon saw the concrete which had already been dropped for the pad of a build...
5 comments
Read more